ETSY’s Allowance of Pro Rape Store

For the past 3 days, there has been a firestorm on Etsy that rivals the WAM action against Facebook. There was a shop called FYourT that was selling t-shirts with pro rape statements, child rape, and crimes against the elderly. Examples include:

Autumn is a beautiful month for date rape

Yummy Yummy Yummy I’ve Got Gummy Bears and Daddy’s Cock in my Tummy

You Look Hot Tied Naked to a Tree with a Tennis Ball in Your Mouth

Etsy’s administration shut down 3 threads because outraged sellers put the name of the shop in the post. Etsy administration admonished the sellers who were protesting this that ‘calling out a shop is against our TOUs”

That created more and more outrage. They pulled some of the offensive items from the shop, but allowed the others to remain visible in the sold link. The official line was that they were investigating and that takes time. In the interim, they deleted posts from angry sellers.

Today they finally shut down the shop after it became reported on Jezebel and RAINN started a petition and got over 6,000 signatures.

Here are the 2 amazing parts of the story. The owners of the store were apparently teen age boys. And second, many of the sellers who were demanding the shop be pulled were then suspended from the forums. Etsy administration is taking punitive action against those of us who demanded they remove this offensive material.

I think WAM should continue to monitor this situation and perhaps submit a request for an explanation from the CEO as to why this material, and others like it still selling on etsy, is allowed.